My journey to lose 160 pounds and to finally be able to wear a bathing suit (and look good!) on the beach.

Sizzlin’ Summer Weigh-In: Week 2 Post Op VSG

Summer’s here! Which means that fun in the sun is a daily way of life. Getting outside and getting active is easy, and it’s on my agenda for each and every day this summer. Being on summer vacation means I don’t have any of the workaday responsibilities that can get in the way of my plans. Now that I’ve had the VSG surgery, achieving my weight loss goals is only a matter of time, and this summer is going to be HOT. Sunday weigh-ins will keep me accountable through the weekend, and will give me a positive goal to begin each new week. I’m not on a diet, I’m establishing a lifestyle – my new life. My Sunday progress updates will be called Sizzlin’ Summer Weigh-Ins.

I weighed in this morning at 264.2, which is a loss of 3 pounds this week, and a loss of 12.8 lbs since surgery. I’ve lost a total of 50.8 pounds from my highest weight. I have to be honest, at first I was really disappointed that I “only” lost 3 pounds this week. I’ve been eating a very well-balanced diet, full of protein, veggies, and complex carbs. My calories are right where the Kaiser nutritionists say they should be for this stage – 600-800/day. I’ve been getting in about 6-7 glasses of water daily, working back up to 64 oz (this is difficult, since I can only take small sips, and can’t drink water 20 minutes before food and 30 minutes after). I’ve also been active almost every day this week, getting a minimum of a 20 minute walk, but most days doing much more than that.

I realize that 3 pounds in one week is great, and it’s getting me closer to my goals. But in the world of WLS, 12.8 lbs in 3 weeks seems a bit slow. So of course I had to check back on Scale Warfare’s blog for this same week in her journey. I was relieved to see that she’d lost 2.2 in week 3, and even mentioned a “dreaded Week 3 stall.” So I’m very grateful that I haven’t hit any sort of stall, and that my body is still losing.

I’ve been weighing myself daily for over a year, taking breaks from the scale only when I was taking breaks from healthy eating. I’ve decided for sanity’s sake, I’m going to start weighing in every other day. I like checking in on the scale often because it helps me stay on track and keeps me motivated, but I also like seeing it move, so I think every other day is a good solution for now.

The other thing that all of the scale-craziness reminded me of was that it’s time to take measurements. My sister measured me months ago, but I think I’m just going to start from today and see how the inches move in about a month. The measurements are a much-needed reminder that it’s not really all about the scale/pounds, and that inches lost is also a great way for me to see weight loss progress.

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My food is going really well, and I’m enjoying the way I’m eating. Right now my diet is really fish-heavy, so I am looking forward to adding in more variety of proteins when Stage 4 arrives, but for now I’m content. This week I’m going to try making Shelly’s Breakfast Bites as well as doing some grilled tofu. (I think my new tummy is too sensitive for the Sriracha marinated grilled tofu just yet, so I’m going to stick to a more mild marinade for now). When I look at some of the food diaries of people on MFP, I don’t know how they can handle eating so much pre-packaged, non-food. Or others who are eating tacos, cookies, and chips on the daily. I personally feel like this new, sleeved stomach is a gift and my eating needs to reflect that. If I make poor choices like I did before, I can’t expect to succeed on this new journey. But if I only eat protein shakes and Quest bars, that’s not realistic either. I love that Kaiser’s post-op plan focuses on being well-balanced, because that’s the way I plan to eat for life.

My exercise has started to get back to normal, too. I’ve increased my walking speed and time to 3.0 mph for 25-30 minutes on walks with Sofi. I also hit the gym on Friday and was able to ride the recumbent bike for 30 minutes at a level 6/7 (I started at level 7 for the first 15 minutes, but then put it down to 6 for the last half) and I went over 5 miles. Not bad! Now that all of my incisions are completely healed, I’m going to start swimming tomorrow (I avoid the pool on the weekends, when it gets so packed that swimming is out of the question). I feel like I’ve finally hit the point where I can move full steam ahead with my summer workouts.

So, despite the fact that I was slightly (and ridiculously) disappointed with the scale this morning, I’m feeling so positive and so thankful about where I am right now. Nothing can stop me now!

5 Responses

Yea! Way to go! You know, I’ve seen a few seasons of Biggest Loser in the past and they always have the week 2 or 3 weight loss slowdown, then they start speeding up. I’m curious – do you feel hungry with only 600 calories? It seems your body might be a little stubborn with that amount at first until it gets used to it. Congratulations on your continued life as a non-smoker. Such a great achievement on so many levels.

Part of the VSG surgery is that it takes away the sensation of hunger, so no, I don’t ever feel hungry. Sometimes I do get low blood sugar, if I wait too long between meals, so I try to stay on top of my meal plans.

That’s a really good point about the BL 2/3 week slump. Thanks for the reminder.

Sounds to me like the TRUE measure of your long-term success – changed behaviors/lifestyle – are going like gangbusters. Keep that up and the scale won’t be able to help reflecting your changed habits!!